Accessories that will elevate your life
What brands are making quality beanies, scarves, and gloves this season, a shop that carries coveted Japanese accessories you can buy while avoiding duties, and more
One of the few greatest things about the cold weather is the chance to enhance your daily fits through items like beanies, scarves, and gloves. Having a solid rotation of accessories is great way to elevate a simple outfit with ease.
In my mind, accessories are one of the few items you should never cheap out on and neither should you. There’s just this feeling of having an accessory that looks so good it has no choice but affect how good it makes you feel.
In today’s newsletter, I’ll share what brands I’m shopping at for beanies, scarves, and gloves this season. We’ll also have a few on-sale recommendations, what online retailers have a great selection of accessories right now, and one shop that’s importing coveted Japanese-made scarves while covering all duties for their customers.
DON’T FORGET YOUR GLOVES
If you live in a warm climate and don’t need gloves, I’m very happy for you, but that’s not the reality for those on the east coast.
When shopping for gloves I tend to enjoy more simplicity in design that still has roots in technicality. Black gloves are always a solid choice because they work with any outfit. The Polo gloves are my latest second hand purchase in an attempt to add some color to my rotation—it’s never a bad idea to have 1 loud set of gloves in your arsenal.
So, where are we shopping for gloves this season? I have a couple of brands and stores you can start looking at right now. All of them offer a little bit of something different in terms of style and function, so I’m just going to do my best to give a wide range of recommendations for you to pick from:
For more technical, fleece-based options, I always start with Patagonia. It’s a classic choice that’s made well and is priced affordably. Can’t go wrong with them.
Mountain Hardware is also another solid choice for more technical styled gloves. While their main choices are for more serious conditions, they do have more street-ready gloves available— Kor Stasis, Hardwear Camp, and HiCamp being my favorite styles right now.
I’d also recommend checking out the Mountain Hardware gloves on eBay. You’d be surprised what’s out there, specifically vintage. For example, these camo fleece ones are sweet.
If you’re looking for a huge variety of styles and want to invest in a quality pair of gloves you can own for years, then Hestra will be the brand for you.
The Swedish-based brand has been handcrafting gloves since 1936, with a mission to create styles that work for everybody. The selection is huge, and while they focus more on gloves made for extreme sports, they do have more fashionable forward options that are worth taking a look at.
I’d specifically look at their leather gloves, with my personal favorites models being the Geoffrey, and the Burensvik.
A GOOD BEANIE WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE EASIER
When I’m looking for beanies but can’t think of specific brands right away, I go to The Outsiders store for inspiration. Their selection for accessories is always top-notch—while the beanies are good, I would also check out their collection of gloves as well. Great selection of different brands all under one roof.
Makde sure to check out their accessories from past seasons that are on sale here.
Spending a bit more on a beanie that is made out of natural fibers is something that I can’t recommend enough. Sometimes it’s fine to sacrifice a bit of quality for the sake of design but having a really good beanie does make your day-to-day much easier.
If you have longer hair then you know just how annoying it is to wear hats in general, so having one that doesn’t mess up your hair as much will always be the better choice. This is where fibers like lambswool, cotton, and alpaca are ideal to help minimize any potential hat hair—hats crafted out of high quality wools are softer, something that hair tends to react better to.
